Primary Research Group released a report that showed
just 7.8% of the U.S. higher education institutions offer massive open online
courses (MOOCs) for college credit, but that nearly half of the schools in the
survey felt they would be offering at least one MOOC within three years.
The survey also found some colleges would consider accepting MOOC credit if there was a
mechanism to assess knowledge gained. Accurate assessment, according to John
Ebersole, president of the online college Excelsior College, is a concern that
must be addressed.
“Even where credit has been recommended, questions
remain as to the extent that participants actually learned anything,” Ebersole wrote
in a blog post for WCET. “While few question the capabilities of the sponsoring institutions
or their faculty, the degree to which these reputational factors translate into
learning is not clear. To date, very little attention has been given to the
measurement of learning outcomes by MOOC providers.”
At the same time, Ebersole is convinced the issue should
be easy to overcome.
“While most MOOCs have so far featured topics for which
there isn’t an appropriate exam, the process to create one is not substantially
longer or more complex than what is required to create and offer a course in
MOOC format,” he wrote. “In return for paying more attention to the learning
outcomes, and how they are measured, MOOC providers can only help enhance the credibility
of this pioneering effort, but also gain credibility in the eyes of the
critics.”
